Sunday, September 20, 2009

Child misery behind Pakistan's festive bangles

HYDERABAD, Pakistan — Ten-year-old Mohammad Adnan leans towards the blazing furnace, moulding bangles for up to 12 hours a day to earn 18 cents to help feed his Pakistani family.

"I'm just starting and can make six to seven tora (300 bangles) a day and earn 14 to 15 rupees," said Adnan, a smile on his tired face in Pakistan's southern city of Hyderabad.

Adnan is just one of thousands of Pakistani children toiling to manufacture the popular glass bracelets that adorn the arms of practically every woman who can afford them in the south Asian nation of 170 million.

The jewellery is particularly popular on festive occasions such as this week's Eid al-Fitr celebration that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan